Abstract
Zn coatings have been applied on steel substrates used by Renault for the manufacturing of car bodies. We had the task to make these on-line thin coatings on smooth and non de-oiled surfaces with a translation speed of 1 m/s. Furthermore, in certain cases, these coatings were situated on a visible surface of the car body and on a precise position. The coating process must be adapted to the clean conditions of the current automotive industry. The development of this application has been focused mainly on the study of a new zinc powder grade as well as on the projection procedure which had to adapt to the constraints and to the productivity of an automotive manufacturing line. Cold Spray addresses all these requirements. Positive results obtained on the mechanical examinations, the accelerated corrosion tests and chippings tests demonstrate that such new coatings meet the specifications of the customer for this kind of processes.
